Sanford, G.R., C.J. Kucharik, J.L. Posner, and R.D. Jackson
Presented at the All Scientist and GLBRC Sustainability Meeting (2009-05-05 to 2009-05-07 )
While long-term trends in total SOC stocks are invaluable they require thorough planning and a time component that is not practical for many scientists working to address current climate change issues. Techniques that enable the assessment of SOC dynamics within a short timeframe (1-3 years) constitute an important tool when evaluating management induced responses to SOC pools. One such technique combines long term soil incubations with chemical fractionation (6N HCl hydrolysis) to elucidate active, passive, and recalcitrant SOC pools. In addition to determining pool sizes the acid hydrolysis-incubation technique provides estimates of pool mean residence times. Our ongoing research with this SOC fractionation technique is focused on methodological questions regarding CO2 accumulation in the incubation chamber and soil preparation techniques (moist & wet sieving, intact cores). The ultimate goal is to evaluate the WICST cropping systems to determine the sensitivity of the technique to management.
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